CCFPeace

By Ari Ingel, Executive Director, CCFP

What has unfolded at Adelaide Writers’ Week is not a misunderstanding born of heightened emotions, nor an unfortunate clash of values. It is a systemic failure of judgment, governance and leadership, from top to bottom, and one that has inflicted real harm on Australia’s Jewish community at a moment of vulnerability in the wake of the massacre at Bondi.

To be clear, this did not begin with the decision to disinvite Randa Abdel-Fattah. It began with the decision to entrust the leadership of a major national literary institution to a director who had previously supported the boycott of a noted Jewish author, and who has made extremist remarks about the world’s only Jewish state, remarks that echo the language of a modern-day blood libel.

Louise Adler should not have been leading Adelaide Writers’ Week.

Her own public statements — including describing Israel’s actions as “genocidal” and framing scrutiny of extremist anti-Israel rhetoric as a form of McCarthyism — should have been disqualifying, particularly at a time of record levels of antisemitism in Australia.

Her remarks are incompatible with the responsibility of stewarding a major cultural institution that serves a diverse national audience, including a Jewish community for whom Israel is not an abstraction but the historical and national homeland of the Jewish people. A place of refuge.

In her worldview, to support Israel is to be labeled a supporter of genocide — and that framing has consequences.

Once Israel is cast as a Nazi-like state committing the ultimate crime of genocide, Zionism ceases to be a political position and becomes a moral stain. Because approximately 95% of Jews worldwide support Israel in some form, this logic renders Jews everywhere complicit in genocide. Jews are no longer innocent, but supporters and enablers of evil — and therefore legitimate targets.

We all saw the consequences of such language play out on December 14, 2025, at a Hanukkah celebration, when light turned to darkness.

Furthermore, in 2024 Adler supported efforts to have noted Jewish New York Times columnist and award-winning author, Thomas Friedman, disinvited from Adelaide Writers’ Week because of his views on Israel, despite his views often being very critical.

The Friedman incident alone should have prompted serious concern from the board. Combined with Adler’s rhetoric, it should have led to her removal long before this current crisis erupted. That it did not, renders the recently resigned board culpable. Governance is not passive. It requires intervention when leadership fails.

It also goes without saying that Abdel-Fattah should never have been invited to Adelaide Writers’ Week, a failure that further underscores why Adler should have been dismissed rather than permitted to resign.

Abdel-Fattah’s extremist remarks were well known and deeply troubling long before her invitation was issued. She has repeatedly described Zionism — a core component of Jewish identity for the overwhelming majority of Jews — as racism. She has argued that it is a “duty” to deny Zionists cultural safety, language that mirrors the logic historically used to exclude Jews from public life. She has openly called for sanctions against Israel.

Most egregiously, on October 8, 2023 — the day after Hamas carried out the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust — Abdel-Fattah posted imagery celebrating the paraglider motif used by Hamas terrorists to infiltrate Israel and massacre over a thousand civilians, as they raped, brutalised and kidnapped innocents. This included the murder of over 350 young people at the Nova music festival, itself a cultural gathering devoted to celebrating life through arts and culture. 

At a time of record levels of antisemitism, and in the immediate aftermath of mass Jewish slaughter, such conduct should have rendered her unfit for a prestigious public platform. The fact that it did not speaks volumes about Adler and the festival itself.

And to be clear, this should not be a debate about censorship. That is how the anti-Israel community has distorted the conversation. This is about the active fomenting of hatred and antisemitism.

Cultural institutions curate. Editors exercise judgment. Festivals decide whom they elevate. Declining to platform someone who has demonstrated open hatred toward a persecuted minority is not censorship; it is common decency.

Indeed, the selective nature of this newfound absolutism on “free speech” exposes the hollowness of the claim.

In 2024, Abdel-Fattah publicly supported a boycott call to have Friedman dropped from Adelaide Writers’ Week, signing onto an open letter to the board.

To the anti-Israel movement, free expression, it seems, is negotiable — depending on the speaker. This double standard is a defining feature of contemporary antisemitism, and now, suddenly, Abdel-Fattah is playing the victim. Palestinianism, in a nutshell.

The subsequent collapse of Writers’ Week and the new board’s response have only compounded the damage. The victims are once again the Jewish community of Australia, yet they are being recast as the aggressors.

Apologies have flowed — but conspicuously not to the Jewish community, which has borne the consequences of this failure. Instead, contrition has been directed toward those whose activism precipitated the crisis, while the community that has experienced a profound sense of betrayal has been left unacknowledged.

That is unacceptable.

The former director, the former board, and the current board all owe Australian Jews a clear, unequivocal apology — not for hurt feelings, but for abandoning their duty of care. For fomenting antisemitism. For creating an environment in which hostility toward Jewish identity was minimised, excused or rationalised. And for doing so at a time when Jews are confronting escalating fear, grief and isolation.

The only thing the board got right was cancelling Writers’ Week, since the rot runs deep and the current board should step down immediately as well.

If Adelaide Writers’ Week cannot operate without eroding the trust of a community that has contributed so profoundly to Australia’s cultural life, then its suspension is not a loss. It is a corrective.

To be clear, Australian Jewry was just targeted again. This is yet another attack in a long line over the past few years in a coordinated effort by a movement to silence the Jews of Australia and push them to the margins — or out of the country altogether.

Until those responsible are willing to reckon with their own failures, no apology — however eloquent — will suffice.

Cover Photo: Asset id: 2565890935 – Adelaide, South Australia, Australia – December 11 2024: Adelaide Convention Centre, on North Terrace, seen across the river Lake Torrens. Low angle view. Copy space in water

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Roundhouse apologises after animation projected behind band appears to show Star of David entwined with swastika

A music venue in London has apologised after antisemitic imagery was allegedly displayed on stage during a Primal Scream gig.

A video appearing to show the Star of David entwined with a swastika was said to be screened during the Scottish band’s show at the Roundhouse in Camden on Monday.

The graphics were allegedly displayed behind the band as they performed their song Swastika Eyes during a one-off gig.

A spokesperson for the Roundhouse said they were “appalled that antisemitic imagery was displayed” at the venue, adding that it had been done without their knowledge.

“We deeply regret that these highly offensive images were presented on our stage and unequivocally apologise to anyone who attended the gig, and to the wider Jewish community. The content, which was used entirely without our knowledge, stands against all of our values.”

The spokesperson said the venue “absolutely condemns antisemitism in every form”. They continued: “Acts of hatred, discrimination or prejudice of any kind are entirely unacceptable and have no place in our community or spaces. The safety of our staff and gig-going audiences remains of paramount importance to us.

“We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and remain committed to ensuring that our spaces are places where everyone feels secure, respected and valued.”

Primal Scream, founded by frontman Bobby Gillespie in 1982, were performing a 25th anniversary show for their album XTRMNTR.

As the band performed the song, pictures of political figures, including the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the US president, Donald Trump, appeared behind them with an animation of the swastika combined with the Star of David replacing their eyes.

Images of the destruction in Gaza were also shown on screen. The video concluded with the words: “Our government is complicit in genocide.”

The Community Security Trust, which offers security, advice and training to protect British Jews, released a statement saying it had reported the band to the police and urged the venue to conduct an “urgent investigation”. A CST spokesperson said: “Entwining a Star of David with a swastika implies that Jews are Nazis and risks encouraging hatred of Jews.

“There needs to be an urgent investigation by the venue and the promoter about how this happened, and we have reported this to the police.”

The Creative Community for Peace, a pro-Israel advocacy group that campaigns against antisemitism in the entertainment industry, described the display as “an act of profound malice, desecration, and cruelty”.

It said: “The Star of David is a sacred symbol of Jewish identity; the swastika is the emblem of a genocidal regime responsible for the murder of 6 million Jews. To merge these two symbols is an act of profound malice, desecration, and cruelty. It is antisemitism in its starkest form.”

Primal Scream and the Metropolitan police have been approached for comment.

Read the original article here.

Several countries, including Ireland and Spain, announced they would boycott the event over objections to Israel’s war with Hamas

By Kory Grow

Israel can compete in the 2026 Eurovision contest after organizers decided not to hold a vote about whether or not to disqualify the country. “A large majority of Members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place,” the European Broadcasting Union, a group of broadcasters that air the contest in 56 countries, said in a statement, according to CNN.

The organizers had met in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday to discuss how to address Israel’s role in the competition after some members said they would boycott the event if the country, embroiled in a war with Gaza since 2023, was allowed to compete. Ultimately, EBU members “backed a set of targeted changes to the Eurovision Song Contest rules designed to reinforce trust, transparency and the neutrality of the event.” The new rules aim to reduce the roles of governments and third parties in influencing voting outcomes; some broadcasters accused Israel of using those methods to rally behind its 2025 competitor, Yuval Raphael.

Nevertheless, several countries have decided to boycott the event over the war. Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Slovenia have chosen not to compete now that Israel qualifies, according to the BBC. Ireland’s RTÉ released a statement saying it felt “participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, thanked the EBU for allowing his country into the competition. He called the decision on social media “an appreciated gesture of solidarity, brotherhood, and cooperation, symbolizing a victory over those who seek to silence Israel and spread hatred.”

The Creative Community for Peace, a nonprofit organization opposed to a cultural boycott of Israel, issued a statement saying the EBU “made the right decision.” Via the CCFP, Kiss vocalist-bassist Gene Simmons said, “Those advocating to exclude Israelis from Eurovision don’t move the needle toward peace—they only further divide the world.” Industry exec Scooter Braun said, via the CCFP, “Artists should never be discriminated against for who they are, who they love, or where they’re born.”

Some countries have yet to announce an opinion on the matter. Iceland and Belgium had not decided whether or not they would participate, according to the BBC, which itself said it had not decided yet whether or not it would compete. Germany, CNN reports, is backing Israel.

The Eurovision Song Contest, launched in 1956, last year drew an estimated 166 million viewers worldwide. The 2026 competition will be held in May in Vienna, Austria.

Cover Photo: Getty Images – Credit: Sebastian Reuter / Stringer

Read the original article here.

By: Benjamin Lindsay

Israel was cleared by the European Broadcasting Union to enter the music contest on Thursday

Jewish entertainment nonprofit Creative Community for Peace denounced Thursday boycotts against the Eurovision Song Contest from a number of countries, including Ireland and Spain, after Israel was cleared to participate in the 2026 competition.

“The entertainment community is appalled by threats from several countries to withdraw, which would only punish their own citizens and fans of the contest,” a spokesperson for the group said in a statement. “We urge them to reconsider and uphold Eurovision’s core principle: to unite people and the world through a shared love of music.”

The European Broadcasting Union cleared Israel for admittance to the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday after meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, and declining to hold an official vote on the matter. Response was swift from Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia, who all stated they would not participate in the 70th edition, citing Israel’s military conflict in Gaza. The competition is scheduled for Vienna, Austria, in May 2026.

“We would like to express our serious doubts about the participation of Israeli broadcaster KAN in Eurovision 2026,” secretary general of Spanish broadcaster RTVE Alfonso Morales said in a statement. “The situation in Gaza, despite the cease-fire and the approval of the peace process, and Israel’s use of the contest for political purposes, make it increasingly difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event.”

Morales acknowledged the European Broadcasting Union’s passage of new competition rules to stop governments of participating nations from influencing Eurovision’s voting process, but emphasized, “We consider these measures insufficient.”

In a statement obtained by the New York Times, Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ said competing alongside Israel was “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there.”

A union vote on Israel’s participation was initially set in September, but later postponed after Israel and Hamas called a cease-fire in Gaza. The decision came after Israeli participants Eden Golan in 2024 and Yuval Raphael in 2025 have been met with protests at the international competition and harassment on social media.

Creative Community for Peace was among the many Jewish organizations and figures in the entertainment industry to applaud the European Broadcasting Union’s decision.

“The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the majority of its member states made the right decision to maintain Israel’s place in the Eurovision Song Contest and refuse to yield to pressure from the anti-Israel boycott movement,” a spokesperson for the org said, adding that the competition “highlights the unifying power of music and brings people together from all backgrounds.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also commended the broadcasting group’s decision, stating in a social media post Thursday that “Israel deserves to be represented on every stage around the world.”

Read the Creative Community for Peace statement in full below:

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the majority of its member states made the right decision to maintain Israel’s place in the Eurovision Song Contest and refuse to yield to pressure from the anti-Israel boycott movement.

It is for this reason that more than 400 entertainment leaders, including Helen Mirren, Liev Schreiber, and Boy George, signed Creative Community for Peace’s open letter last year supporting Israel’s continued participation and rejecting efforts to turn Eurovision into a political weapon.

Scooter Braun noted, “Artists should never be discriminated against for who they are, who they love, or where they’re born. These boycott efforts do nothing but distract from the uplifting and unifying power of music—something we need now more than ever.”

Gene Simmons echoed this sentiment, saying, “Music unites people from all backgrounds. It’s the one language that everyone can understand. Those advocating to exclude Israelis from Eurovision don’t move the needle toward peace—they only further divide the world.”

Israel also has a long and celebrated history in Eurovision, which includes winning the Contest in 1978, 1979, 1998, and 2018 and having a diverse group of contestants representing the country, including Palestinians, Ethiopians, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Every year, millions across Europe and around the globe join in this extraordinary celebration of cultural exchange—one that highlights the unifying power of music and brings people together from all backgrounds.

This is why the entertainment community is appalled by threats from several countries to withdraw, which would only punish their own citizens and fans of the Contest.

We urge them to reconsider and uphold Eurovision’s core principle: to unite people and the world through a shared love of music.

Cover photo: Yuval Raphael representing Israel performs for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest on May 17, 2025. (Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images)

 

Read the original article here.

By David Suissa

Sometimes, the most creative act of a creative community is to gather people under the stars and enable the magic of human connection.

At a glittering gala the other night for Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), with 500 guests mingling under the stars at Haim Saban’s house listening to famous rockers, I reflected on the name of the organization.

Of course, any group with the word “peace” in its name can do no wrong. Indeed, on its home page, CCFP bills itself as a non-profit comprised of prominent members of the entertainment industry “dedicated to promoting the arts as a bridge to peace.”

Peace has always been the ultimate goal of conflict resolution. When we dream, we dream of peace. If you love life, you love peace. If you have peace, you can love life.

The enemy of peace is hate. In recent years, the special hate reserved for Israel has been a terrible enemy of peace. It has led to ugly boycotts of artists who try to perform in Israel. These boycotts kill peace.

And yet, for all my love of peace, what struck me at the gala the other night was not peace but something deeper. As I mingled through the crowd with a friend, we were immersed in human connection— in people engaging with one another.

At every CCFP event I’ve attended, this sense of human connection has stood out. The events are never static. You’re on the move meeting people and creating connections.

Given that CCFP has a serious mission to “educate about rising antisemitism” and “galvanize support against the cultural boycott of Israel,” where does this notion of human connections come in and how does it relate to peace?

As I see it, creating human connections is the ideal road to peace.

What CCFP creates, above all, are human connections.

When it supports artists who perform in Israel, it is creating connections.

When it gathers people from the entertainment industry to hear about its cause, it is creating connections.

When it steers clear of politics and focuses on the human power of art to bring people together, it is creating connections.

Creating connections is the action that helps “educate” and “galvanize support.” If peace is the dream, creating connections is the act that gives hope to that dream.

Sometimes, the most creative act of a creative community is to gather people under the stars and enable the magic of human connection.

That connection is what I felt the other night.

Read the original article here.

By Brian Fishbach

As antisemitism continues to rise, a group of musicians has stood up against the forces of hate and built bridges through their music.

In February, when American rock band Disturbed announced that they would be playing a show in Dublin, Ireland on Oct. 22, 2025,  a petition circulated demanding the promoter cancel the show. The petition accused lead singer David Draiman of “championing the slaughter of Palestinian children” and called on “anti-colonizer” Ireland to tell him he wasn’t welcome.

By the time Disturbed took the stage on Oct. 22, the petition had reached over 10,000 signatures — roughly one for every person in the arena. The show went on as planned, and only nine days after 20 Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity in an exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Over the past two years, Draiman has been among the loudest voices in rock music confronting antisemitism. The Jewish frontman has spoken publicly about Hamas’ atrocities and called for other musicians to do the same. After several of Matisyahu’s shows were canceled in early 2024 due to pro-Palestinian protests, Draiman launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $29,000 to fund private security for him.

In June 2024, Draiman traveled to Israel, where he met with families of the kidnapped, visited the Hostages Families Forum offices in Tel Aviv and signed IDF artillery shells with messages directed at Hamas.

That same summer, he received the Jerusalem Post and World Zionist Organization’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Fight Against Antisemitism. Accepting it in New York, he said, “The world can seem like a very, very dark place these days. But it takes incredibly powerful light to dispel darkness, and it is up to each and every one of us to be that light.” He called on his peers to speak out: “We just experienced the worst Jewish loss of life since the Holocaust. Does something more impressive need to happen for you to finally open your mouths?”

Draiman later formed a friendship with former hostage and bereaved father Yarden Bibas, who was released from Hamas captivity on Feb. 1, 2025. Three weeks later, the dead bodies of Bibas’s wife, Shiri, and their sons, Ariel, four, and Kfir, one, were returned to Israel. During the Feb. 26 funeral at Kibbutz Nir Oz, Bibas played a recording of Disturbed’s “Hold on to Memories.” Draiman said of the song, “It was a song about the many colleagues that we’ve lost over the years — Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots), Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave).” Bennington and Cornell both died by suicide in 2017, and Weiland died of a drug overdose in 2015. Yarden had two other metal songs played at the funeral, “I Thank you Child” by Ozzy Ozbourne’s lead guitarist Zakk Wyld, and “Roman Sky” by Avenged Sevenfold.

CCFP executive director Ari Ingel informed Draiman that the father, Yarden, was a fan of Disturbed and that one of his songs was played at the funeral. After being put in touch by CCFP, Draiman and Yarden began a friendship. When the two men met in person for the first time that July in Israel, Draiman wrote on Instagram, “This man is the living embodiment of strength and perseverance. One of the sweetest and purest human beings on the planet. The very best of us. Anything, anytime, anywhere, achi. All the love. #AmYisraelChai.”

Ireland’s relationship with Israel had already grown tense by the time Disturbed arrived in Dublin. The Irish government recognized a Palestinian state in 2024, joined South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in early 2025 and watched Israel close its embassy in Dublin months later. Pro-Palestinian protests had become routine across Irish cities, while the country’s tiny Jewish community — roughly 2,000 people — reported feeling increasingly isolated. Against that backdrop, Draiman knew exactly what kind of audience he was walking into.

OCTOBER 22, 2025: DISTURBED CONCERT IN DUBLIN, IRELAND

That night in Dublin, Draiman addressed the tension.

“It’s good to be back in Dublin. This is the homeland for our guitar player, Mr. Dan Donegan. There’s something I need to remind everyone. There are many people in this world who want nothing more than to pull us apart from each other over and over and over again … Everyone is welcome, everyone is f—ing welcome at this show … I believe at the bottom of my heart that music is the best bridge building, cohesive, unifying element in the entire creation. And if there’s anything that can save the world, it’s the right f—ing music at the right time … sometimes darkness can show you the light.”

The crowd erupted. He didn’t say “antisemitism” or “Israel,” but everyone knew what he meant.

Among those in the audience was Ohad Levy, a 35-year-old Israeli studying electrical engineering in Dublin. He came for the opening act, Megadeth, but knew Draiman’s record of support for Israel.

Levy told The Journal that he expected Palestinian flags and anti-Israel signs but saw only one — which was quickly taken down. Like Draiman, he wore a Star of David around his neck. He has lived in Ireland for three years, his first language is Hebrew but he speaks English with an Irish accent. Levy said there were tears in his eyes during Draiman’s speech.

“The concert gives hope for the decent people amongst us. It’s a dream for me, I want to re-believe in society,” Levy said.

Before the Oct. 7 attacks, Draiman had already fielded calls from fellow musicians wary about scheduling concert dates in Israel.

“I reassure them and help them understand,” Draiman told the Journal in 2021. “You’re going to be dealing with a wave of s—. It’s temporary … the extremist voices are the loudest. There aren’t as many of them as you think.”

At a 2024 rally in the rain in Beverly Hills outside the offices of agent Ari Emmanuel, Draiman told The Journal that “Joseph Goebbels would’ve been very proud of the demonization we’re seeing, with all the implying that Jews drink the blood of victims of war … Music is about truth. It’s about standing up for who you are.”

When Hamas attacked southern Israel in 2023, one of their first targets was music lovers. Three hundred seventy-eight people were killed and 44 were abducted at the Nova Music Festival in Re’im. Israelis, tourists, and international DJs were still dancing when Hamas terrorists parachuted and bulldozed their way into the festival grounds starting at 6:29 a.m.

On the Wednesday before the attacks, Bruno Mars played for 70,000 people at Park HaYarkon in Tel Aviv. (A second show in Tel Aviv was scheduled for Oct. 8, but was canceled.) Mars and his crew fled Israel to Athens on Oct. 7, leaving without any of their instruments or production equipment.

Since that day, major music acts have yet to return to Israel. The Jewish State had long been a divisive tour stop for popular acts, but after Oct. 7 it became radioactive. Canceling concerts in Israel isn’t new. In 2011, when Elvis Costello called off his planned shows, Universal Music Publishing Chairman David Renzer saw a cultural boycott taking shape. Along with Steve Schnur, president of music at Electronic Arts, he founded Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) — a nonprofit of entertainment professionals formed to counter cultural boycotts and defend artistic freedom through dialogue and coexistence.

“We’re living in a time when antisemitism has reached levels that I’ve never seen in my lifetime,” Renzer told the Journal. “We must ensure that artists have the freedom to perform anywhere in the world without intimidation or fear …Our mission hasn’t changed. We continue to promote coexistence and build bridges through music.”

After Oct. 7, that mission took on new urgency.

****

Borrowing from “Righteous Among the Nations,” “Righteous Among the Rockers” are the musicians and massive industry figures who, in this time of rising antisemitism, have used their voices, risked their fanbases and took public stands against antisemitism. Plenty of executives have taken quiet stands and made big moves behind the scenes. One executive under the condition of anonymity told The Journal that they got a major entertainment publication to remove the word “genocide” from two articles about Israel. But it’s the boldface names that make the loudest noise — Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Gene Simmons of KISS and John Mellencamp have taken a stand. Indeed, both were among the biggest names to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people at CCFP’s annual Ambassadors of Peace (AOP) gala in October 2025.

MATISYAHU

In early 2024, Matisyahu traveled to Israel to meet and perform for soldiers, families of hostages and wounded civilians. He turned the experience into “Song of Ascent,” a concert documentary directed by Shlomo Weprin. It was filmed over two trips to Israel, where Matisyahu visited the site of the Nova Music Festival, walking through several devastated kibbutzim, and met survivors who lit memorial candles for the murdered. The film also captured the contrast between his time in Israel and his U.S. tour, where several shows were canceled amid protests — what he called a “cultural storm.”

“Hopefully it’s just a voice that my experience is similar to a lot of people’s experience — a lot of Jews after Oct. 7, and our connection with Israel and our struggle in America,” Matisyahu told The Journal. “We just documented that time period, and I think people will find some sense of hope and strength in it.”

FIVE FOR FIGHTING — JOHN ONDRASIK

John Ondrasik, who performs as Five for Fighting, is a UCLA alumnus who isn’t Jewish. Still, since Oct. 7, he has written, recorded and performed songs framing the massacre and hostage crisis as a test of conscience for the entire arts community.

In early 2024, he released a protest song, “OK (We Are Not OK)”; the song’s video juxtaposing footage from the Nova Festival and pro-Hamas rallies with his refrain, “This is a time for choosing.” “I’m just a guy who sees evil and doesn’t like it,” Ondrasik said. “We all have a role to play.”

For him, that role includes education. “We’re going to go to these schools, we’re going to support the Jewish kids — UCLA, USC. Nobody’s going to wear a mask or chant to anybody,” he said at the American Jewish Committee’s annual Kaufman Family Annual Meeting in June 2024. “The arts is how we win. The arts is how we fight this battle.”

Earlier this year, Ondrasik rerecorded his 2001 hit “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” as a tribute to Israeli hostage Alon Ohel, changing one lyric from “Find a way to lie, ’bout a home I’ll never see” to “Find a way to fly, to a home I will soon see.” He told The Journal that, “The boundless spiritual fortitude of the hostages and their families is beyond words … It felt right to change the lyric, to remind the world they are still there.”

When asked what drives him, he put it plainly: “It’s not just about being pro-Israel — it’s pro-civilization.”

SCOOTER BRAUN

No music executive has leveraged his influence more directly than Scooter Braun. Known for managing Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Demi Lovato, he is one of the few figures whose actions can bring music into global conversation.

Braun had experience with a music-world terror attack before.

“When Manchester happened,” he said, referring to the 2017 terrorist bombing at an Ariana Grande concert, “the whole world rallied. Here, the world abandoned them,” Braun said. He was 2.5 hours away in London at the time of the attack, and headed to Manchester as soon as he learned of the horrifying news. “This was never about politics. It was about humanity. Two things can be true. I should mourn for your family in Gaza the same way you mourn for these people.”

Braun helped bring “The Nova Music Festival Exhibition: October 7th, 06:29 a.m. — The Moment Music Stood Still” to New York and Los Angeles. It has since had installations in Miami, Washington, D.C., Toronto, and Boston.

The exhibit recreated the festival grounds near Re’im.

“Here I was standing in front of these kids [at the site] where over 400 were killed, and no one was saying anything … This is about seeing your daughter, your mother, your friends and speaking to others and demanding they see this,” Braun told The Journal.

In Los Angeles, the exhibit became a rallying point. Braun organized a vigil for six slain hostages found in Gaza. As the one-year mark of the attacks approached, the Nova Exhibit evolved into both a memorial and a meeting space for communal healing.

What also mattered was who Braun brought with him. Celebrities who might have otherwise stayed quiet — Cindy Crawford, Usher, Sia, Octavia Spencer, Kristen Bell, Jessica Alba, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, Sharon Osbourne, Will Ferrell and others — visited the exhibit. Even brief news stories about these visits put a spotlight on the tragedy that for so many was ignored or forgotten. Over its four-month run in Los Angeles, the Nova Exhibition drew more than 170,000 visitors. Schools across Los Angeles sent students, teachers and superintendents to see the installation.

At the Anti-Defamation League’s annual concert later that year, Braun spoke again:

“Innocent people dying at a music event is wrong,” he said. “These Nova survivors have given me the greatest gift … Something shifted since Oct. 7. They live by this mantra: ‘We will dance again.’ So I hope you’ll understand I’m done saying the negatives. I want to say again and again… we will be strong again. We will be proud again. We will dance again and again and again.”

DAVID FISHOF

The producer behind Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp — the program that pairs musically-inclined fans with rockstars for weekend jam sessions — is doing all he can with all the musicians he’s befriended over the years. The son of a Holocaust survivor and cantor, Fishof has long viewed music as a vehicle for connection. In early 2024, he invited 10 Israeli musicians affected by Oct. 7 to Los Angeles for a special camp session. The group included Nova Festival survivor Raz Shifer, reserve soldier Dov Engel, and Bar Rudaeff, whose father — a Magen David Adom volunteer — was later confirmed murdered in Gaza.

“I think the biggest issue we Jews have in America is what can we do? We all want to do something,” Fishof told The Journal. “So for me, I was able to do something.”

He didn’t tell campers or counselors about the Israeli guests, worried one might object. “I just needed one guy to say, ‘I didn’t pay money to come to a camp with a bunch of Israelis,’” Fishof said. “I was prepared to refund him and send him home.” Instead, when he introduced them on day one as “my heroes,” the campers gave a standing ovation.

One non-Jewish band in the camp renamed itself Tzuri — Hebrew for “Rock.”

Fishof said 85% of campers were not Jewish, and many had never met an Israeli before. “Do you use Waze? Do you use WhatsApp? Do you use Wix?” Fishof asked. “This all comes from Israel.”

After visiting Auschwitz months earlier, he saw the mission in personal terms. “The guy giving the tour was comparing Auschwitz to Oct. 7,” Fishof said. “It was smaller, but it was Auschwitz. I heard those stories from my father. But now to be able to do something — that’s why it was great.”

The Los Angeles camp, which ended March 17, 2024, became, in Fishof’s words, “the greatest one we ever did.” That camp featured jams with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, as well as Warren DeMartini — guitarist for glam metal band Ratt. Singer Sebastian Bach (formerly of Skid Row) wore dog tags in honor of the hostages when performing with campers at the Whisky A Go Go.

Fishof will soon release a documentary about how helping Israelis heal with music is the “greatest, proudest accomplishment” of his music business career.

“None of it matters to me,” Fishof said. “I’m a Jew first. That’s the most important. But to be able to do something like that … I felt good when I did it.”

EUROVISION: ISRAEL TAKES THE HIGH ROAD

In 2024, Eurovision became appointment viewing in Jewish homes across the United States. The annual contest — a major event for all of Europe but not on the radar for music lovers in the U.S. — turned into the most positive week of social media posts amongst the Jewish people in the seven months since the attacks. In both years, following the performances of Eden Golan in 2024 and Yuval Raphael in 2025, a sense of pride and joy washed over the people in the Jewish community, who paid attention like it was “American Idol” Season 1.

Both Golan and Raphael were proudly Israeli and outspoken against antisemitism, but what made their presence historic was the timing — two talented musical artists, each barely in their 20s, standing on one of the world’s largest stages as the faces of a nation under siege. They both needed head-of-state level security to and from the Eurovision venues due to the outrage against Israel’s participation in the event. Still, they each took the high road, and even made friends backstage with some of the other performers. Golan’s “Hurricane” and Raphael’s “New Day Will Rise” are now considered anthems of resilience for Israel and Jews around the world.

Both singers finished in the top five through massive public voting support — from some of Europe’s largest countries, as well as votes from countries with miniscule Jewish populations. That result spoke for itself: audiences responded to the music, not the noise surrounding it.

In the process, Eurovision became an unexpected arena for pride in Jewish communities around the world. Golan and Raphael were thrust into the role of accidental ambassadors — untrained diplomats whose voices carried Israel’s heart and pain to millions of viewers. As of fall 2025, the debate still hasn’t quieted. There are still calls for Israel to be excluded from Eurovision in 2026. But German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that if Israel is banned from Eurovision, Germany will pull out (and take their 80 million citizens with them).

RED CARPET FRONTLINES

As political messaging seeped into awards season, some artists used the world’s biggest stages to turn performance into protest. At red carpets and televised ceremonies, “Artists4Ceasefire” pins, keffiyeh scarves and watermelon accessories became cultural battlegrounds. A handful of Jewish and pro-Israel figures answered in their own way.

Montana Tucker, the pop artist and influencer with millions of followers, has made Holocaust education and Jewish pride the center of her public life. In 2022, she created the ten-part docuseries “How To: Never Forget,” retracing her grandmother Lilly’s survival at Auschwitz. “A lot of people my age and younger don’t even know what Auschwitz is,” Tucker said. “Education is the only way we can stop history from repeating itself.”

Since then, she’s used her social media presence — TikTok, Instagram, and beyond — to reach younger audiences who might never otherwise encounter Holocaust history. “I realized how important it is to use my platform for something bigger than myself,” she said. Her partnerships with the Claims Conference and USC Shoah Foundation helped bring those lessons into classrooms and public spaces across the country.

After Oct. 7, Tucker shifted from remembrance to advocacy. “People are scared to say they’re Jewish right now. I want them to be proud,” she said. At the 2024 Grammys, Tucker walked the red carpet in a dress designed by Israeli fashion house MadeByILA, featuring a large yellow ribbon reading “Bring Them Home” — a reference to the hostages held in Gaza. Since then, she has continued using her platform for Holocaust and Israel awareness, later producing “The Children of October 7,” a documentary featuring young survivors who witnessed atrocities firsthand. Each of her public appearances — from film premieres to award shows — became a statement of Jewish pride and solidarity amid an industry often uneasy about Israel.

“You don’t have to be Jewish to stand up against antisemitism,” Tucker said. “Social media can spread hate — but it can also spread truth.”

Also at the 2024 Grammy ceremony, Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy and a past honoree of CCFP, used his appearance to reaffirm music’s role as a universal connector. Listing terror attacks that had targeted concertgoers — from Paris to Manchester to Las Vegas — he included the massacre at Israel’s Nova Music Festival.

“Every one of us, no matter where we’re from, is united by the shared experience of music,” he said. “It brings us together like nothing else can, and that’s why music must always be our safe space.”

He then introduced a string quartet composed of Palestinian, Israeli, and Arab musicians.

Sixteen-time Academy Award-nominated songwriter Diane Warren — another past honoree of CCFP’s Ambassador of Peace award — has remained outspoken. “Anything that has to do with Jewish people and is good means a lot to me,” Warren said. “It’s scary right now. You don’t think there needs to be armed guards at a synagogue in 2023.” She signed multiple CCFP open letters defending artistic freedom, supporting Israel’s inclusion in the Eurovision Song Contest and calling for compassion for all civilians while rejecting cultural boycotts. “Music and art is healing,” she said. “We’re Jews — we push on, we fight on.”

At the ADL’s 2024 Concert Against Hate in Washington, D.C., pop star Sia dedicated the song “Titanium” to survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre, saying, “We will dance again,” as survivors joined her on stage. In New York, the Moscow-born singer/songwriter Regina Spektor wrote on social media on the day of the Oct. 7 attacks, “Killing Jews isn’t fighting for human rights. It never will be. It’s just murder. Love must prevail. Peace must prevail. Hope is always with us.”

At CCFP’s 2025 gala, KISS’ Simmons told reporters, “Jewish self-hatred is at an all-time high, which is astonishing. And I fully support the ‘they/them’ community, the Queers for Gaza, but they’re not informed. If you’re queer in Gaza you’re going to be ‘was/were.’ You’re going to be thrown off a building. Education is important.”

At the same event, Mellencamp took the stage to introduce Universal Music’s Bruce Resnikoff for an award and declared, “And to the Jewish haters, I say, f— you! Yeah, you need to open your eyes and remember the Golden Rule: What is hateful to you, do not do to others, and try to learn that ignorance is not a virtue.”

Before he passed away in July 2025, legendary Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon signed several open letters by CCFP supporting Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks. During the Nova Exhibit’s run in Los Angeles, Sharon frequently visited and spoke with survivors who were present to share their trauma.

A QUIETER CHORUS

It is not all sunshine and solidarity. But two years on, it’s important to look back at the horrific week of the Oct. 7 attacks and remember which music superstars publicly acknowledged the pain of the Jewish people. Regardless of what they’ve said since, their words then still hold value in the fight against antisemitism and using music to spread peace.

The blog IsraellyCool kept a scrapbook of screenshots from celebrities who publicly posted support within 24 hours of the Oct 7 attacks. Culture Club’s lead singer Boy George said, “When you hurt women, children and the elderly your cause is doomed. I stand with Israel.” Sara Bareilles wrote, “Now and always we stand with the people of Israel.” Others whose posts are archived on the blog include Josh Gad, Barbra Streisand, Justin Bieber, Samantha Ronson, and Jack Black.

On Oct. 12, 2023, CCFP circulated an open letter that called on the “global entertainment community” to “support artistic freedom and condemn the targeting of civilians.” Notable signers included Dee Snyder (Twisted Sister), John Fogerty (Credence Clearwater Revival), Peter Frampton, AJ McLean (Backstreet Boys), Ziggy Marley, Jason Derulo, Josh Groban and KISS’ Paul Stanley.

On Oct. 24, 2023, hundreds of entertainers signed a “No Hostages Left Behind” open letter to then President Biden thanking him for “unshakable moral conviction, leadership and support for the Jewish people, who have been terrorized by Hamas … and for the Palestinians, who have also been terrorized.” The letter also called for “freedom for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace … and most urgently, freedom for the hostages.” Signers included Lana Del Rey, Madonna, Chris Jericho, Justin Timberlake, Lea Michele and Lance Bass.

From short posts to full letters, these artists publicly recognized antisemitism for what it was — even briefly — when silence was the safer option.

During Irish band U2’s 40-show residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Bono paused during a performance of “Pride (In the Name of Love)” to honor the Israeli concertgoers killed at the Nova Music Festival. “In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about nonviolence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable,” he told the silent crowd. It was only the fifth show ever at Las Vegas’ new Sphere concert venue. “But our prayers have always been for peace and for nonviolence. But our hearts and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So sing with us … and those beautiful kids at that music festival.” Then, as the band launched into the song, Bono altered the lyrics: “Early morning, Oct. 7, the sun is rising in the desert sky. Stars of David, they took your life but they could not take your pride.” Brandi Carlile, who was in the audience that night, said “Antisemitism is WAY too comfortable for people even in this country and I condemn it with my entire heart.”

Mere weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks, Pink, said “Any violence or hate-filled demonstrations taking place around the world are making the problem worse, not better.” Rush’s Geddy Lee said, “it was important to express the pain we were feeling watching this, what could be arguably called one of the worst massacres since World War II of the Jewish people.”

Throughout this year, there were still rockers in the music world taking a stand with Jewish people in peril and speaking out against boycotts. Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) and Israeli singer Dudu Tassa said in May 2025, “Intimidating venues into pulling our shows won’t help achieve the peace and justice everyone in the Middle East deserves.”  Smash Mouth’s Zach Goode was harangued by the anti-Israel Instagram account Zionists In Music for stating his solidarity with fellow Jews in a comment thread: “It’s a war. Kinda have to pick a side. … One side wants us dead.” In 2025, Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath advocated for peace and specifically called for the hostages to be returned home: “I am part of the chorus of voices calling for an immediate ceasefire and release of all hostages. One life is one too many.”

After the last 20 hostages were released back to Israel on Oct. 13, Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) frontman M. Shadows showed how compassion could still cut through division. The band’s Israeli fan community on X had reached out to let them know that two of the freed hostages, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David, were longtime A7X fans who had been abducted from the Nova Festival. Shadows recorded a private video welcoming them home: “We’ve been following the story closely. We knew you guys were devoted A7X fans and we appreciate it so much. The things you guys have been through, it’s just unspeakable, terrible … hopefully we see you guys soon.”

Shadows later gave permission for the video to be shared publicly, saying, “If you think it would help, of course I’ll do it. We wanted to give them some sort of reprieve, some sort of relief or some sort of joy.” When some accused him of taking sides, Shadows told Rolling Stone, “It’s not something that I’m going to worry about; I know that it’s the right thing to do. I think you have to stick to your moral compass. To me, that video is just a human doing something for another human. It’s not making a political stance. It’s not sticking it in someone’s eye. It really is about two human beings that have been through hell. And if we can’t agree on that, it’s really hard to agree on anything.” He said the gesture came from grief, not ideology — two Israeli women the band befriended were murdered at the Nova festival.

Shadows said he respected Draiman “not just for where he stands, but that he believes in something and he’s full-force into it.”

The war’s politics will keep shifting, but what these artists did will outlast it. They sang, they showed up, they refused to stay silent. And for the people who lost everything that morning in the desert, that still matters. Because in moments when the world feels impossible to reach, it’s the people who make us dance who are often the best at helping us gain allies — the righteous among the rockers. As Draiman said, “if there’s anything that can save the world, it’s the right f—ing music at the right time. Sometimes darkness can show you the light.”